Renault will alert prosecutors over costs for Carlos Ghosn’s Versailles wedding
French car firm Renault will alert prosecutors over a sponsorship deal with the Palace of Versailles which included a €50,000 (£43,720) benefit to its ousted boss Carlos Ghosn.
Renault’s internal probe, launched after Japanese authorities arrested Ghosn in November, has “identified that Mr Ghosn was accorded a personal benefit valued at €50,000 under the terms of a sponsorship contract with the Chateau de Versailles”, the company said.
“Renault has decided to bring these findings to the attention of the judicial authorities,” it said.
Ghosn, who was replaced as chief executive and chairman at Renault last month following allegations of financial conduct in his role at Nissan, held a wedding reception at the palace – once the principal royal residence of France – in 2016.
Interior of Grand Trianon, on the Versailles estate, which was rented for Ghosn’s 2016 wedding (Source: Wiki/Mkonikkara)
French president Emmanuel Macron and Russian president Vladimir Putin outside the Grand Trianon in May 2017 (Source: Getty)
French daily Le Figaro reported that Renault’s sponsorship of a renovation project at the Versailles had also included renting the Grand Trianon palace, commissioned by King Louis XIV and built in 1687.
Renault’s board was told about the discovery as reported in Le Figaro on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Ghosn is still being held in Tokyo, but has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.